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Journal article
What’s in a database? Insights from a retrospective review of penguin necropsy records in Aotearoa New Zealand
PloS one, Vol.20(4), e0321975
2025
Abstract
Wildlife necropsy databases often provide data for morbidity and mortality studies of free-ranging species, with implicit relevance for conservation goals, as well as domestic animal and human health. Retrospective reviews are a common way to derive insights from such opportunistic data, despite the methodological difficulties of performing these analyses, alongside findings being prone to bias. This study reviews morbidity and mortality data from Sphenisciformes of Aotearoa New Zealand, using records extracted and manually refined from submissions to the national Wildbase Pathology Register. The review corroborates the broader consensus that hoiho (yellow eyed penguin, Megadyptes antipodes) are most commonly diagnosed with infectious/inflammatory disease (43.1%, 422/978 diagnoses), kororā (blue penguin, Eudyptula minor) with traumatic injuries (42.9%, 156/364 diagnoses), and emaciation being a common finding across both species (33.9%, 393/1463 diagnoses). Further, there are marked spatiotemporal trends in submissions, driven primarily by the affected species and the submitting organisations, highlighting the biases within such databases that must be factored into the application of results. Typographical errors, redundancies from synonymous terms, and missing data are captured as barriers to performing manual reviews of free-text data. Overall, this study highlights strengths and limitations of storage and review of wildlife necropsy data while providing insight into threats faced by the penguins of Aotearoa.
Details
- Title
- What’s in a database? Insights from a retrospective review of penguin necropsy records in Aotearoa New Zealand
- Authors/Creators
- Stefan SaverimuttuStuart HunterBrett GartrellKate McInnesKristin Warren - Murdoch University, Centre for Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and SustainabilityAn PasJames ChattertonLian Yeap - Murdoch University, Centre for Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and SustainabilityBethany Jackson - Murdoch University, Centre for Biosecurity and One Health
- Publication Details
- PloS one, Vol.20(4), e0321975
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science; SAN FRANCISCO
- Number of pages
- 18
- Identifiers
- 991005774133507891
- Copyright
- © 2025 Saverimuttu et al.
- Murdoch Affiliation
- Centre for Biosecurity and One Health; Centre for Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and Sustainability; School of Veterinary Medicine
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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